Picture This

After a whirlwind three weeks of eating, drinking coffees (peppermint mochas...yum), taking advantage of all the love and attention from family and friends, being a guest in my own country, spending an amazing six days in New York for New Years with two of the most beautiful women I know and have the honor of calling buddies, I finally arrived back to Barcelona with both feet ladden in new leather boots, firmly planted on land. But it really wasn't over. After those three weeks of being away from the people I've gotten so used to, I had to have more coffee dates and adventures to catch up on all I missed. I will not eat for the next month. I swear if I could, I would hybernate until the sun comes out again.

Well after a few weeks of festivities I came back for one last special day, El Dia de los Reyes! Forget Santa Claus people, this story is so much more intricate and it doesn't come around until the 5th/6th of January. The kids even get an extra day off of school so they can play with their new toys! Talk about taking gifts seriously and there's three of them! With camels, elephants and horses and they drink wine and whiskey, not milk and cookies. Okay, I'm getting off track. So as soon as I returned, I was honorably invited by Jordi Mena Haro (see previous blog or two) to join him at the calgavata (I think I spelled it wrong), the big parade in the city center that welcomes the kings to Barcelona straight from the port. Unfortunately I forgot my camera (first time ever!) and was not able to get a single shot of this breath taking experience so Jordi gave me a great idea, to write an entire blog with just words and descriptions, no images. It will be up to you to imagine it, so grab a friend and have them read it to you so you can see it with your eyes closed. Or just read it and use your wildest imagination.
Picture This:
It's a cool January evening. Jordi and I meet in front of Gaudi's Sagrada Familia and we decide to make our way to the center walking. I look at all the beautiful modernist buildings and am so glad to be back in the city that has adopted me. We make our way to Carrer Pelayo where we find the perfect spot, front row seats to an event we know will be packed within a few hours. Jordi goes on a sandwich and warm coffee run for us and leaves me with an elegant older lady who is by herself and strikes up a conversation with me. It is only 6pm and the kings are estimated to pass at about 7:30pm, we don't care we want front row seats. Jordi returns and with him tons of people excited to see the spectacle. After an hour and a half of waiting, somehow becoming family with all the other families arounds us, Bertha the beautiful blue-eyed five year old, her parents, toting their letters for the kings (wish list), the foreigner who has the 6 boys playing games so they don't get impatient, but is really having a better time himself, the elegant older lady and all the others, applaud the entrance of the helpers.
There are colors everywhere, blues, yellows, reds, oranges with see-through material that wavers in the sky, silver confetti, giant stars, suns, dancers, everything you can imagine. In the background you hear Arabic music as the Kings arrive, each representing a different area, Arabia, Asia and Africa.
And they are throwing candies, candies everywhere! The burst of colors is exhilirating and I am bent over laughing hysterically as Jordi reaches for the ground, battling against the countless children to collect some candies for me. Even Bertha's grandmother who a few moments ago kept complaining about her aching body was down on the ground. Suddenly a Sugus, a version of Starburst, hits me on the head and I laugh even harder. Everyone was laughing, everyone, children, parents, grandparents, Jordi, I....there was not a serious face miles around. The Kings helpers collect the letters and a presenter then announces to the children that they must eat one candy before going to bed because tonight and only tonight they are magical candies that will help them go to sleep, knowing that if they are awake the kids will not be visited. A child then screeches out "COCA-COLA!!!" as he sees the coca-cola candies approach us. The man in charge of the six boys is having the time of his life and I am re-living one hundred and one memories of when I was a child. Suddenly I screech out when I see real camels! Real camels decked out in gold and red and all I can think is that America doesn't have camels in their parades and I am a child again, instantly, along with everyone else around me.
Then it is over, the street cleaners pick it all up and the families scurry home to prepare for the big visit. There is excitement in the air, my skin prickles with all the magic around us and Jordi and I go over the people we saw. The transformation of the man, Bertha's eyes at the sight of it all, the older elegant woman who decided to come by herself to re-live her own past, to adopt a family momentarily and live an experience she probably has had for decades.
It was pure magic and all it took was a little fairy-tale, some candies, and a lot of imagination. I applaud the seriousness and dedication everyone involved had in order for the children to believe for a few magical hours. They even had me believing that night as I heard footsteps above my head.
The Kings didn't visit me this year, I think they didn't know I was here, but I can promise you next year they will pay me a visit.

I wish you all an amazing 2008. I hope your experiences were just as exciting and love-filled as mine and that one of your top priorities for this year is to come and visit me if you haven't yet.
That would be the biggest gift of all. Now, go eat some candy!